Moomins books

Posted by dulwichmum on Sun 4 July 2010

Name of product: Moomin and the Birthday Button based on the stories of Tove Jansson, Moomin’s Little Book of Numbers, Moomin’s Little Book of Words and Moomin’s lift-the-flap Hide and Seek

Price: £5.99 to £6.99 from Puffin Books

The blurb: “As 2010 is the 65th Anniversary of the Moomins Puffin are publishing a range of books to celebrate these characters that have enchanted generations of adults and children. In July & September 2010, Puffin are publishing a stunning new range of high quality picture, board, activity and novelty books, using Tove’s original characters and artwork, to commemorate the anniversary and introduce the characters to younger readers

Rights for these new books have already been sold in 14 languages and secured a co-edition print run of circa 600,000 copies!

The first novel starring the Moomin family, written and illustrated by Tove Jansson, was published in 1945. Three years later, the Finn Family Moomintroll was published and met with immediate acclaim. It was quickly translated into English, leading to the international success of the Moomin books. The books have now been translated into over 40 languages and been adapted for television, film, opera and radio

Moominvalley, this magical place somewhere in the realms of fantasy, has today enchanted over three generations of readers of numerous nationalities and with Puffin’s brand new series of pre-school books, based on the original characters and artwork and aimed at the family’s very youngest, we hope yet another generation will find a wonderful new way of entering into the magical world of the Moomins”

First impressions: As with many adults of my generation, I am overjoyed to see the cute and quirky Moomin characters return to our bookshelves. Whilst flicking through the colourful illustrations of the rainbow coloured books I can picture my childhood and the charm that these books held for me. The magical setting of Moominvalley based on the natural setting of Tove’s upbringing on an Island off the Gulf of Finland has retained is magic and I am drawn to share these books with my children – if they ever sit still long enough to do so (sniff)

Moomin and the Birthday Button has a beautifully illustrated cover with a contrast of soft hues of green and bold outlines reminiscent of the Moomin characters. The book follows the tale of Moomintroll on his birthday and the delights and emotions he experiences on his special day. He receives a beautiful gold button which he is captivated by and is in a hurry to show off his new button to his friends

I can almost hear the sighs of “If only my little darlings would be overjoyed with a button for their special day,” (sigh) sans demands for an iphone on which to confer with seven year old chumss regarding outfits for the school disco. As Moomintroll moves through the tale, each of his friends is busy doing a variety of different activities and does not have the time to notice is new button or wish him a happy birthday. In time for his Birthday party, Moomintroll’s friends arrive with the product of their hard work and concentration during the day – a gift for Moomintroll! The book demonstrates the emotions he experiences; his confusion, sadness, anger and happiness through its gorgeous illustrations. The book ends with a delighted and tired Moomintroll falling happily to sleep (a dream any mother has for her own Moomintrolls on a nightly basis)

Pros: This is a lovely happy story that covers emotions, friendships and has a overwhelmingly cosy happy ending that make it a perfect bedtime story for a child of 3 to 5 or a book that can be enjoyed independently by any emerging reader of 5 to 7 whilst enjoying the glorious pictures. My little poppet and her friends also felt it would be useful in a Nursery or Reception classroom to teach about emotions and friendships and especially that people may not always have time for you but it does not mean they don’t love you just that they are busy -have I not taught her well…(smug smile)

Cons: It has encouraged me to provide my poppets with a lovingly wrapped button for their next birthdays purely to gauge if the joy they feel is equivalent to Moomintrolls (Is it not afterall important that they develop a geat sense of humour too?!)

Moomin’s lift-the-flap Hide and Seek is a high quality flap book with a miriad of beautiful pastel pages with a hiding place for each of the characters Moomintroll encounters on his search for his friend Little My. The flaps are large and open in different directions, perfect for little hands keen to explore and learning those essential fine motor skills to ensure they will one day be a skilled artist/Wimbledon champion/neuro surgeon. The repetitive questioning of “Is Little My hiding…” encourages interaction and prompts prediction from any intelligent little being

Pros: This book is beautifully presented and is perfect for those of between 6 months and 3 years old. It is engaging for the poppets as they have a role and can predict what may happen next and who is hiding in a certain place. It is also helpful teaching a range of vocabulary due to the range of hiding places although alas no section that includes “Is Little My hiding in Mummy’s Jimmy Choos?” answered with “ No they are far too sacred a place for any hide and seek game”. As we all know there are things they should learn at a very early age!

Cons: The only con with any flap book for little hands that I fear in time the flaps may be torn, chewed or removed by overenthusiastic exploring although they do feel much sturdier than some other flap books encountered

Moomin’s little book of Words is a thick first word book that contains Moomin’s favourite words: apple, cup, flower, shell, paint, book and moon. The pages are thick and great to encourage independent page turning for little fingers. The pictures are simple but could be used for early discussion about what Moomin is doing to help the child remember the words presented in context

Pros: The pages are easy for anyone to turn and the pictures are colourful and clear for those little eyes desperate to absorb every detail the can

Cons: The font selected for the words is possibly not one that would be taught at schools so visually is a little confusing

Moomin’s little book of Numbers is the second thick picture book of this years Moomin relaunch. It covers learning the digits and number names from 1 to 10 and allows the child to count and confirm the objects on each page. The pages have bold illustrations that help children make the links between quantity and number

Pros: Again the thick pages for little fingers and the clear link on each page between the digits, quantity and wording are definitely strengths